6-Day Huangshan Educational Tour

Upon arrival in Huangshan on the first day, check in at the hotel.

After a rest, head to Tunxi Old Street to feel the unique commercial folk customs and old street charm of the Huizhou area, and immerse yourself in the local traditional living atmosphere. Then proceed to visit the inkstone workshop, where you can observe the craftsmen's inkstone-making process up close and learn about the traditional techniques of inkstone production.

Tunxi Old Street

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Strolling through Tunxi Old Street gives you an initial understanding of Huizhou folk customs. Visiting the inkstone workshop allows you to learn about the history and development of inkstone-making craftsmanship, and you can feel the charm of Huizhou inkstones by observing details such as their shapes, structures, and patterns.

Educational Focus:

What are the processes of Huizhou inkstone craftsmanship?

Takeaway:

The processes of inkstone-making craftsmanship usually include stone selection, design, carving, polishing, glazing and maintenance, and ink cartridge preparation. Among them, design is an extremely important and crucial process in the inkstone-making process. To a certain extent, the success of a work depends on the designer's design ability. During the inkstone design process, it is necessary to repeatedly compare and observe the shape, texture, color, and grain of the stone material, give full play to one's imagination, select the best carving theme, and endow different patterns according to the shape and size of the inkstone blank, the quality of the texture, and the changes in grain and color.

Thought Challenge:

Under the impact of modern industrial production, how do traditional inkstone workshops balance the inheritance of craftsmanship and market demand?

The second day's itinerary begins with a tea culture experience. In the morning, head to Xieyuda Tea Culture Center, where you will deeply participate in the complete process of tea picking, tea making, and tea tasting. Here, you can feel the joy of labor together with your partners, and also observe and experience traditional tea-making techniques in the tea-making workshop.

Students Picking Tea Leaves

Students Making Tea Leaves

In the afternoon, take the Yungu Cable Car up to the Yellow Mountains. Then visit Shixin Peak, Shisun Rock, Harp Pine, Tanhai Pine, Lianli Pine, Black Tiger Pine, Mengbi Shenghua, and climb Shizi Peak. Explore Qingliang Terrace, where you can admire the Eighteen Arhats Facing the South China Sea, Monkeys Watching the Sea, and more. Stroll all the way to a prime viewing spot to wait for the sunset, watching the setting sun gild the peaks of Huangshan with warm golden light and taking in the stunning scenery with your own eyes. After the sunset, walk to the mountain hotel to check in, concluding a fulfilling day.

Yungu Cable Car

The Beautiful View on the Huangshan

A Monkey Gaping at the Sea

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By participating in tea picking, tea making, and tea tasting, you will learn not only about Huizhou tea culture, but also enjoy the incredible natural scenery of Huangshan Scenic Area and experience the special beauty of Huangshan's sunset.

Educational Focus:

How does the traditional craftsmanship of Huizhou tea making impact the quality of tea?

Takeaway:

The traditional craftsmanship of Huizhou tea making generally includes the following steps: withering, rolling, fermenting (for some teas), and drying. Withering is to reduce the moisture in the fresh leaves to prepare for the next steps of processing; rolling alters the shape and quality of the finished tea. The role of rolling is to bring the tea juice to the surface of the leaves to assist with subsequent brewing. At the same time, rolling will reduce the volume of the tea leaves, making them easier to carry and brew; proper fermenting influences the oxidation of the tea, creates unique taste and aroma attributes for the tea, and generates new beneficial compounds for the human body; the purpose of drying is to nearly complete the evaporation of moisture from the tea leaves, determine a measure of the condition of the tea, stabilize the quality, and preclude mold.

Thought Challenge:

What is the process of inheriting and carrying on tea culture?

After breakfast on the third day, hike to the viewing platform to wait for the sunrise, watching the morning sunlight shine on the peaks of Huangshan and feeling the magnificence and vitality of nature. Then proceed to Paiyun Pavilion to view the ingenious rocks of the West Sea, head to the West Sea Grand Canyon, tour the first and second loops to reach the bottom of the canyon, and take the Yungu Cable Car down the mountain.

In the afternoon, go to experience Huizhou Bark Paper Making. Under the guidance of professional craftsmen, make Huizhou Bark Paper with your own hands. Feel the unique charm of this traditional craft through processes such as raw material processing, paper fishing, and drying.

The Sunrise on the Mountains

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Experience and learn about the traditional craftsmanship of Huizhou Bark Paper Making, feel the charm of the craft and the wisdom of craftsmen, and gain an in-depth experience of the inheritance and vitality of Huizhou's intangible cultural heritage.

Educational Focus:

What are the production steps of Huizhou Bark Paper? What are the requirements for each step?

Takeaway:

The production of Huizhou Bark Paper is mainly divided into six steps: Material selection: Remove impurities. Pulping: Pulp the raw materials according to the requirements of products with different processes. Paper fishing: Determine the weight of added materials and the amount of dispersant according to the type and weight of the product, and master the number of water shoveling times to ensure that the weight of the paper is within the specified weight. Paper pressing: Press the fished paper to dry out the moisture. Paper drying: Determine the temperature of the drying board according to different varieties, with the maximum temperature not exceeding 80℃, and the paper surface is required to be flat without gaps. Inspection: Inspection is the last step to control product quality, requiring the paper surface to be free of impurities, yellow stems, damage, wrinkles, etc.

Thought Challenge:

In the digital era, how can traditional paper-making crafts like Huizhou Bark Paper maintain their vitality and be passed down?

In the morning of the fourth day, head to Bishan. First, take a hike around the village of Bishan to enjoy the natural scenery of the village. Then walk into the village for a visit. Under the guidance of a professional guide, listen to the explanation of Huizhou-style architecture and learn about its characteristics. At noon, experience making local specialty foods with your own hands in the village and feel the unique charm of rural food culture.

In the afternoon, go to Hongcun Ancient Village to experience traditional craftsmanship. Under the guidance of the inheritor of Yixian fish lantern making, understand the historical origin and symbolic significance of fish lanterns, and personally participate in the entire process of making fish lanterns, from frame construction, paper pasting to pattern painting. Feel the exquisite skills and cultural heritage of this folk craft, and deeply experience the traditional folk culture of Huizhou villages.

The Reflection of the Old Houses in Hongcun Ancient Village

Fish Lantern Making

A Beautiful Fish Lantern Completed

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Learn about the history and characteristics of Huizhou-style architecture; experience making local specialty foods and feel rural food culture; make fish lanterns and learn traditional craftsmanship.

Educational Focus:

What are the architectural characteristics of Huizhou-style architecture?

Takeaway:

Huizhou-style architecture features unique layouts such as enclosed courtyards, exquisite carvings with rich themes (including wood carvings, stone carvings, and brick carvings), and white walls and black tiles that blend with the natural environment. The most prominent external features of traditional Huizhou dwellings are the horse-head walls and patios. Horse-head walls are not only decorative but also play a role in fire prevention and wind resistance. Patios are a unique layout in traditional Huizhou dwellings, and the funnel-shaped wellhead is the core of ventilation and drainage in the building. In addition to the unique architectural structure, wood carvings, brick carvings, and stone carvings are the essence of the decorative art of traditional Huizhou dwellings.

Thought Challenge:

How can rural cultural elements such as Huizhou-style architecture and folk crafts be integrated into modern life to promote cultural inheritance?

Starting in the morning, you will experience half a day of life as a Huizhou-Local family Farmer. Pick fresh organic vegetables from the local vegetable garden, draw water from ancient wells, and cook traditional Chinese dishes using firewood stoves in a Huizhou kitchen. Gather in the courtyard to enjoy the delicious food you picked and cooked with your own hands. Afterwards, you will begin to learn the traditional craft of Nanping bamboo weaving. Under the guidance of bamboo weaving craftsmen, you will start from selecting bamboo materials and splitting bamboo into strips, learning this ancient craft step by step.

Cook Traditional Chinese Dishes Using Firewood Stoves

Students Learning Bamboo Weaving

A Bird Made of Bamboo Weaving

In the afternoon, visit a local primary school and interact with students. You can carry out lively and interesting interactive activities with local students and also give classroom sharing sessions. After the interaction, take a in-depth tour of Nanping Village (Yixian County). Nanping Village is famous for its numerous ancient ancestral halls, ancient dwellings, and deep alleys, and is known as the "Museum of Ancient Ancestral Hall Architecture in China". You can enter famous ancestral halls such as the Ye Clan Ancestral Hall and Xuzhi Hall to feel the profoundness of Huizhou clan culture; you can also chat with local villagers about daily life to learn about local folk customs.

Student Exchange

Student Interaction

Students Attending the Symposium

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Gain an in-depth understanding of traditional Huizhou living customs, feel the charm of intangible cultural heritage through bamboo weaving techniques, experience the vitality of rural education through interactions with primary school students, and appreciate Huizhou ancient village culture in Nanping Village.

Educational Focus:

What are the technological processes and requirements of the traditional craft of Nanping bamboo weaving?

Takeaway:

The production process of Huizhou bamboo weaving is complex and delicate. Every step, from material selection and bamboo splitting to weaving and post-processing, requires ingenuity. During material selection, craftsmen will choose bamboo with moderate age and tough texture as raw materials; when splitting bamboo, the hand and the knife should be in a straight line, and both hands should exert force evenly, so that the split bamboo strips are as thin as hair and the bamboo pieces are as thin as paper or silk; during weaving, craftsmen use various techniques to skillfully weave bamboo strips into various exquisite patterns and shapes; in post-processing, through processes such as bleaching, dyeing, drying and painting, the colors of bamboo weaving crafts become more colorful and the patterns more vivid and beautiful.

Thought Challenge:

What impact will integrating Huizhou traditional culture into rural education have on the inheritance and development of local culture?

On the sixth day's return journey, you head back to your hometown with the imprints of Huizhou culture and abundant gains.